Microsoft Looks to Bring Health Records Online

By Ed Oswald | Published October 4, 2007, 2:16 PM

Microsoft said Thursday that it had launched a new service called HealthVault, which will allow consumers to manage their health information online. The site does not fall under Microsoft's Windows Live branding, and is currently beta.

The offering looks fairly similar to that of Revolution Health, a venture led by AOL co-founder Steve Case. Like HealthVault, that service offers a centralized online location to manage healthcare information.

Eventually, the company wants to make a user's medical records available through the application, while at the same time respecting the privacy of the patient. Users would have full control over who sees their medical information, Microsoft said.

HealthVault will be provided at no charge to the consumer and will be ad-supported.

"The launch of HealthVault makes it possible for people to collect their private health information on their terms and for companies across the health industry to deliver compatible tools and services built on the HealthVault platform," Health Solutions Group head Peter Neupert said.

A search engine on the site is based upon Live Search technology, and would also eventually help to connect the user with HealthVault-compatible services.

Microsoft has secured support from a broad range of companies spanning some 40 different applications. They include various interest groups, health device makers, and even some hospitals.

It's not yet clear, however, if customers will trust Microsoft with their medical data, or any other provider for that matter. But many say that bringing medical records online is an important step in improving healthcare overall.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

Mirosoft failed at software spectacularly in 2007, so just like a typical conservative, KEEP FAILING even more spectacularly, only in new venues! MS sees this entry as easy taxpayer-funded money after their recent string of failures at ISO, China, India, and the EU. Toolie, have you seen your recruiter yet? Why not?

Score: 0

|

Toolie, have you seen your recruiter yet? Why not?

Well, obviously because they'd never have to recruit anyone else. They know I'd win the war single-handedly, and where would that leave everyone else?

(Hell, he never reads replies to his Hit and run trolls anyway, so I might as well have some fun with it)

Score: 0

|

"(Hell, he never reads replies to his Hit and run trolls anyway, so I might as well have some fun with it)"

yup that's what we call a turd loser, like that fool with a rehashed version of your name that obviously has no life

Score: 0

|

At least the fake-tool is being original (for the most part), even if he thinks it's offensive.

zridling just keeps pushing the same lines over and over again. no originality, no creativity...

Although the website he made was pretty humorous.

Score: 0

|

every hacker in the world will try there hand at this......

Score: 0

|

Oh no we will find out that Hillary has a major boil on her arss!

Score: 0

|

That's just Bill.

Score: 0

|

Oh I trust them with security

Score: 0

|

It's funny that most people I've talked with about this seem to harbor the belief that Google doing this would be more trustworthy than Microsoft. As if that really matters? Holy crap. I used to yearn for this, but nowadays I don't like the idea as much.

Score: 0

|

I really don't think I like the idea of anyone doing this...

Score: 0

|

A lot of room for abuse and loss of privacy here..

Score: 0

|

Jeesh, I have a friend who started a company 10 years ago that does this. Once again, Microsoft attempts to lead from behind.

Score: 0

|

Oh yeah? I have a friend that started a company that does this 20 years ago. Your friend is obviously a little late to the game.

*laughs*

Score: 0

|

Conversely, I would say both our friends are smarter than Microsoft.

*snickers*

Score: 0

|

This scares me. Not any specific portion of it, more of an all-around heebie-jeebie thing.

Paranoia sucks.

Score: 0

|

Hey, paranoia kicks gullibility butt.

Score: 0

|

But in your case, PC_Tool, we really are out to get you. (Hehe!)

Score: 0

|

Then you have fallen into my clever trap and it is already too late for you.

Wallow in the knowledge of your eminent destruction, foolish pawn.

Muahahhaa....

Okay, was that overboard?

Score: 0

|

I initially read that as 'foolish prawn'.

I need more tea before my reading ability gets as bad as some peoples writing ability.

(not PC_Tool, of course, he's just too cute)

*Ahem*

Score: 0

|

Mmm...shrimp.

Now I'm hungry.

Thanks, jerk. :p

Score: 0

|

Microsoft's Ray Ozzie: 'Nobody's going to be 100% open'

The mobile apps ecosystems of the world may converge over time, led by apps being ported over across platforms, according to the Chief Software Architect.

Will Firefox beat IE9 to Direct2D rendering?

Just days after Microsoft executives gave conference attendees a peek at a new rendering technology, a Mozilla contributor revealed he's working on the same thing.

Where there's smoke: Apple warranty stance raises troubling questions

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: Smoking can be dangerous not only for your lungs, it appears, but for your Apple hardware warranty.

The fallacy of Facebook privacy

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: If an insurance company learns something interesting about its client through the Internet, is that snooping?

Microsoft 'worked with Apple' for Silverlight on iPhone, says Goldfarb

By not making such a big deal out of trying to stream video to the iPhone, Microsoft got a big deal out of it, revealed the Silverlight product manager.

Clicker.com cuts through the Web video chaos

In a world where homemade video and Hollywood movies travel the same pipeline, it's good to have a real search engine to cut through the clutter.

A case study in improving software: What Office 2010 can learn from Notion 3

A music composition product gambles with a complete overhaul, in an effort to make headway against two well-known competitors in a tough market.

Kindle 2 update adds battery life, native PDF reader

Amazon has pushed out an update to the Kindle 2 e-reader that lengthens battery life and adds a native PDF viewer.

Safari on iPhone gets competition from a $1 browser app

Apple likes to say it gives iPhone users a full browsing experience, but a new competitor tries to incorporate more desktop browser features.

Action Replay maker sues Microsoft for Xbox 360 'predatory technological barriers'

Third-party video game accessory maker Datel has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft over the Xbox 360's recent Dashboard update.